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orthostichy

[awr-thos-ti-kee]
noun, plural or·thos·ti·chies. Botany.
  1. a vertical rank or row.
  2. an arrangement of members, as leaves, at different heights on an axis so that their median planes coincide.
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Origin of orthostichy

1870–75; ortho- + Greek -stichia alignment, equivalent to stích(os) row (see stich1) + -ia -y3
Related formsor·thos·ti·chous, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for orthostichy

orthostichy

noun plural -chies
  1. an imaginary vertical line that connects a row of leaves on a stem
  2. an arrangement of leaves so connected
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Compare parastichy
Derived Formsorthostichous, adjective

Word Origin

C19: from ortho- + Greek stikhos line
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012